Thursday, 22 May 2014

Di Montezemelo full of praise for Alonso

Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemelo has praised Fernando Alonso describing the Spaniard as 'the best driver in the world, who always gives 200 percent'. Prior to day's on track action in Monte Carlo, Alonso was praised by the Daimler chairman Dieter Zetscher and Mercedes AMG F1 Team boss Toto Wolff.

The Spaniard responded to the praise by saying:

'It's always welcome when people see your job in a good way, It's sometimes strange to see good comments from people from the outside, and the opposite from people who are supposed to be close to you.'

Alonso's comments were followed today by Di Montezemelo, who said:

'I think it's incredible that there are still some so-called experts who don't understand that and are always looking for a polemical situation that simply doesn't exist.'

Dieter Zetscher made his comments while speaking to Spanish media and it had been reported that Alonso, who has stated that 'Nothing has changed' at Ferrari since Marco Mattiacci's arrival at the team just prior to the Chinese Grand Prix.

Di Montezemelo went on to say:

'The truth is that he and Kimi [Räikkönen], another incredible driver, need a competitive Ferrari and giving them that is our sole objective.' he also said: 'We are working very hard, starting with [Team Principal] Marco Mattiacci, who knows what needs to be done and who will instigate many changes at a technical and organisational level and in speeding up the decision making process. That's what I want, as do our drivers and our fans, while all the rest is just idle chat.'